WEST SIDE MAN CHARGED WITH ANIMAL CRUELTY

NEWS SERVICESCHICAGO TRIBUNE

A West Side man was charged with animal cruelty Thursday after as many as nine dogs were found in the basement of a his apartment building along with a book on dogfighting and what "appeared to be a dog treadmill," Chicago police said.

Jerome Jones, 45, was arrested Thursday night and charged with one count of misdemeanor cruelty to animals in connection with the animals that were removed from his home in the 3400 block of West Harrison Street earlier in the day, according to police.

The dogs were found in cages after firefighters responded to a small fire at the site. But despite the discovery of the dogfighting paraphernalia, it's too early to tell whether the dogs were used for fighting, Sgt. Eugene Mullins said. The investigation was ongoing, he said.

One of the dogs appeared to have a snout injury, but the others did not appear to have serious injuries, police said.

Police said nine dogs, three of which observers at the scene said appeared to be pit bulls, were seized at the scene by the Chicago Commission on Animal Care and Control. But Mark Rosenthal, operations manager for the commission, said he was aware of seven or eight dogs that were seized along with a parrot.

Three of the dogs that Rosenthal saw appeared to have scars, but he could not say whether the scars were consistent with dogfighting. Rosenthal said that will be determined when they are examined by a veterinarian.

A small electrical fire broke out in a first-floor unit in the building in the 3400 block of West Harrison Street about 5:30 a.m., according to fire officials. No people were hurt.

The blaze prompted firefighters to go to the basement to turn off the power.

Because they had to force their way down there, fire personnel called police. And when firefighters entered the basement, they saw the dogs in their cages, Langford said.